Week 3 Blog Entry

Reflection

For Week 3, we were introduced to the SCAMPER method to help us generate many possibilities and ideas for our researched identified gap. The topic for this week was to select our ideas and narrow it down to one single best idea. We sieved out ideas through the use of feasibility which analyses on whether the project would be viable and lastly narrowing it down to the best idea through COWS method which we have learnt in the module CP5091.

We were tasked to make 8 selected ideas using the SCAMPER method then narrowing it to 3 best ideas through feasibility analysis and finally selecting the best single idea through COWS method. The generation of our ideas can be seen in activity 1 and activity 2.

Problems faced during selection of ideas

- Understanding the SCAMPER method whether we had to include ideas using all the SCAMPER or crafting ideas for each SCAMPER acronym. 

- Came up with 2 best ideas for our self-watering system but we're in a dilemma as both the ideas are required to achieve the mechanism for our self-watering plant but we had to narrow it to one best idea. The 2 ideas which are also our main ideas for the mechanism of the self-watering system were: 

  1. 1. Filtering wastewater  

  1. 2. Solar energy to activate pump 

How we achieved to our best idea can be seen in Activity 1 and 2.


FOCUS AREA/RESEARCH GAP: 

Self-watering system for a plant 


Main idea: 

  1. 1. Filtering wastewater  

  1. 2. Solar energy to activate pump

  2.  

 

ACTIVITY 1


Use Scamper to ideate no less than 8 ideas (or solutions) to addressing your identified research gap. 


1) Substitute 

 – Substitute soil with a chemical typed soil to reduce pests and improve plant growth 


2) Combine  

- A system that cycles filtered water using a solar powered pump 


3) Modify  

– Make pots bigger to fit other types of plants for home usage 


4) Modify  

– Modify filter to turn dirty water into drinkable water 


5) Modify 

– Adding a type of program where a sensor senses whether the plant is getting enough nutrients. If the plant is lacking on a certain nutrient, the program will automatically dispense the nutrient into the water tank so that the plant will get the nutrient infused water. 


6) Put to another use  

– The filtration system is for humans but can be used for plants as well 


7) Put to another use 

– Can the microorganisms be used on living things like animals at places where it is difficult to have animals due to the harsh environmental conditions. So that with the microorganisms the animals can grow healthily in the harsh environment. 


8) Put to another use 

– Making the solar powered pump to be used for other household activities such as washing dishes, showering and mopping the floor. 

 

Feasibility Analysis 













ACTIVITY 2: 


The criteria we have chosen for the options of our ideas are: eco-friendliness, ability to filter effectively, availability of parts, ease of use and ease of maintenance. 


Rationale for picking the criteria: 


Eco-friendly: It is given a weightage of 25% as the filtration system must be powered or used by energy efficient pumps to operate. This also includes the filter being made of natural ingredients, no pollutant is released and hazardous waste formulated at the end of its lifecycle.  


Ability to filter dirty water effectively: It is given the highest weightage percentage of 30% as the main function of the self-watering system plant is to filter dirty water into water that can be used for plant growth and development. These include the permeability of the filter medium relative to the domestic dirty water, retention capacity relative to solid particles and pore size distribution.  


Availability of parts: It has a weightage of 25% as the availability of parts to make the filtration system in the self-watering plant will affect the overall cost of the entire self-watering system. As such, the remaining share of the budget could be used to rectify the problems faced by other parts of the self-watering system. 


Ease of use: It is given the lowest percentage of 10% as the product is going to be used by many different people. Thus, it must be user-friendly and easy to operate for users using this product. Although the weightage is not rated high, it is still important for the product to be used conveniently by users at their homes. 


Ease of maintenance: It is given the lowest percentage of 10% as the filtration system must be maintained easily so that users can rectify and replace the faulty parts after long use especially when the filter gets clogged up or dirty.  


Hence, with Idea 1 scoring the highest weighted score among all the 3 ideas, Idea 1 is the most suitable idea to proceed with. Its value lies in its eco-friendliness, ability to filter dirty water effectively and ease of maintenance. Despite Idea 1 scoring lower than Idea 2 in ease of use, the other factors exceed the criteria in order for the self-watering plant system to function. In addition, an instruction manual can be provided to users on how to operate the system to make it more user-friendly for them.  


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